Chapter 14: This Counts as a Fitness Test? Hardly Worth Mentioning.
"That last shot was at least thirty meters, right?!"
Bachira's face was alight with excitement as he ran up to the spot where Kira had just been standing. He glanced at the goal first, then stared wide-eyed at Kira.
"Seriously, how did you even do that shot? Even from that distance, it still had so much power when it hit the net! That's insane! As expected of the strongest guy on our team!"
Beside him, Isagi also looked at Kira with a mix of awe and admiration.
"I've been practicing long-range shots lately," Kira replied with a small smile. "Still lacking a bit in accuracy."
Then he tilted his head slightly. "You two aren't asleep yet? It's pretty late."
"Yeah," Isagi nodded, eyes still fixed on the goal.
Standing where Kira had taken his shot, he couldn't help but marvel. For him, that distance was way too far — matching that kind of power was simply impossible.
"In that case, how about the three of us practice together?" Bachira suggested cheerfully.
"Sure."
Kira didn't object. Training with others was definitely more efficient than alone. His legs still ached a bit, but basic drills and movement practice were no problem.
Besides, he wanted to use this opportunity to observe Bachira's exceptional dribbling — a skill that would be crucial for breaking through defenders later on.
Even with the system's power-ups, Kira wasn't satisfied. He knew he had to keep growing stronger through his own effort.
After about an hour of joint practice, the trio finally paused to rest.
At that moment, Bachira turned toward Kira, squinting slightly as if lost in thought. After a brief silence, he spoke.
"Kira, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why did you choose to eliminate Gurimu Igarashi?"
"For you, my answer might sound boring," Kira said calmly. "Partly because he picked a fight with me — that gave me the ball. And partly because… I believed he was the one who most deserved to be eliminated."
"The one who most deserved it?" Isagi asked, confused.
"When we first entered, I counted — there were twelve of us. The tag game was meant to eliminate one, leaving eleven players. That's the number needed for a full starting lineup on a football team. So I figured the remaining eleven would form a team and compete against others. Losers would be eliminated. Ego hasn't said it yet, but I'm pretty sure that's what comes next."
Kira's tone was matter-of-fact as he continued,
"Since we're forming a team, we had to eliminate the weakest. You both saw Igarashi — physically and technically, he was the worst. So I took him out."
"You really thought that far ahead…" Isagi muttered, astonished. Then a new worry hit him. "But even if eleven players make a full team — we're all strikers! That's going to be chaos during matches!"
Bachira's grin widened; he seemed to have guessed Kira's reasoning.
"So that's why you made that show of strength earlier, huh? A demonstration of dominance. With a leader, the chaos can be avoided. I'm right, aren't I?"
Bachira was sharp — his instincts often bordered on eerie, like something monstrous guiding him.
"You could say that," Kira admitted, nodding slightly.
"Interesting."
Bachira's smile grew wider as he leaned in a little.
"You know, there's a monster living inside my heart. It told me that among this group, there's someone who's the same kind as me."
His eyes flicked briefly toward Isagi before locking back onto Kira.
"And that monster said… there's one person here even it fears. That person is you, Kira."
"Is that so?" Kira replied, smiling faintly.
"Kira, why did you join Blue Lock?"
"To win."
[TL: Ok honestly if someone said this in real life I would just think he's crazy or smthing.]
His answer came without hesitation.
At first, he had planned to just go with the flow — but once Kira set a goal, he pursued it relentlessly. That stubbornness, he thought, must've come from his old life as a mangaka.
In truth, he possessed an unrivaled desire to win.
Bachira's grin deepened even further, his eyes glittering with excitement.
"…Time's getting late. We should rest."
"Yeah."
---
The next morning, Kira woke up early as usual.
Though it had only been eight days, he'd already built the habit of training before sunrise — even if, trapped inside Blue Lock, there was no sunrise to see.
"These beds are really stiff… Guess I should add 'luxury bedding' to my future goals," he muttered.
He stretched a bit. The facilities were perfect for training, but living conditions left much to be desired — ten people in one room, each with just a mattress, blanket, and pillow.
After washing up, he began his basic warm-ups to earn a few Points. About an hour or two later, the others finally got up — and their first official day in Blue Lock began.
For their first activity, Ego had arranged physical testing.
The exercises were intense, with barely any rest in between, and many players simply couldn't last the full session.
"Kira… you're still going?!"
Isagi clung to a bucket, vomiting and completely exhausted, while Kira ran steadily on the treadmill as if nothing had happened.
"I'm fine," Kira replied casually.
'The test is tough, sure… but compared to Riko's training, this is practically gentle,' he thought to himself.
Across the room, Jingo Raichi was also running on a treadmill.
Hot-tempered and fiercely competitive, Raichi had taken an immediate dislike to Kira since the tag match. He'd already decided to treat Kira as his personal rival.
Stamina was Raichi's pride — and though this wasn't a real match, he was determined to at least beat Kira on the physical test.
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〔TL〕
Every 100 powerstones = 1 bonus ch.
Every 2 review after 100 ps = 1 bonus ch.